Top 25 Games of the Decade (2000-2009) - Day 5

The end of
the decade is upon us and it’s time to revisit the landscape of gaming that
began in 2000 with the launching of the PlayStation 2 and is now ending in 2009
with three viable console platforms in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

Over the
next 25 days, GameZone will be bringing our readers the “Top 25 Games of the
Decade.” Considering how many games released in the past ten years, it was an
exhausting process to narrow down our initial list of more than 200 games to the
top 25.

Factors that
played a large part for titles that made the cut included: initial impact,
lasting impact, longevity, “standing the test of time”, popularity, advancements
in the genre, and much more. It wasn’t easy picking and choosing between our
favorite children, but we feel the games that made our list are representative
of the decade that was.

A sprawling world that proved to be
full of adventure, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind’s Vvardenfell was exciting
to explore and discover.

Asking gamers to upgrade their
gaming rig to the latest high-tech equipment, Morrowind was a graphical beast in
2002 and provided lush environments to traverse. Rich visuals, real-time weather
effects, a day and night cycle, and flourishing foliage paved way for an all
around beautiful game.

Impressive with its sheer scope,
gamers could get lost for months on end within Morrowind. Whether it was
adventuring through the faction quests or reading the in-game literature,
Morrowind could steal the soul away from its audience in a heartbeat.

Comprising of more than a hundred
hours of gameplay, Morrowind is a title that beckons for repeat playthroughs.
Even upon a handful of completions, gamers most likely never saw all that
Morrowind had to offer.

Without scaling enemy AI, Morrowind
is hands-down the more popular title of the TES series. If developers are
aspiring to create a western-RPG, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is the
standard to draw from.

The skill system made perfect sense
for an RPG. The combat was entertaining to experiment with. And, beyond all, it
was an enthusiastic look at what games could turn out to be in the future with
open-ended gameplay.